Seed-sowing apparatus.



No. 683,903. Patented Oct. '8; mm. L. H. BREWER. SEED SUWING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Oct. 17, 1900.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOWELL I-I. BREWER, OF EAST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

SEED-SOWING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 683,903, dated October 8, 190 1. Application filed October 17,1900. Serial Not 33,364.. (No model.)

To all whom it nay concern:

Be it known that I, LOWELL H. BREWER, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of East Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, (Whose post-office addressis East Hartford, Connecticut,) have invented a certain new and useful Seed-Sowing Apparatus, of which the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description, whereby any one skilled in the art may make and use the same.

My invention relates to the class of devices which are commonly used for distributing seeds, fertilizers, or other materials over the ground, and is more especially adapted for use in distributing materials such as are used as a top' dressing for the earthsuch, for instance, as ashes or finely-ground cotton-seed.

The object of my invention is to produce a machine which will be simple in its construction and cheap to manufacture and at the same time provide a device which will operate effectively and will distribute materials very evenly without liability of their becoming too much scattered as they are applied. To accomplish these results, the distributing mechanism is operated directly from the wheels which support the structure, so that all movement of the Wheels as the deviceis drawn or otherwise propelled over the ground, even though it is uneven, would be positively transmitted to the mechanism which causes the material to be scattered from the distributer.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the device. Fig. 2 is a crosssectional View. Fig. 3 is a detail side view of a portion of the mechanism looking from the left of Fig. 2. Fig. lisa detail view, on a large scale, of the trip mechanism. Fig. 5 is a detail view, on a large scale, of one of the driving-pinions and appurtenant parts.

In the accompanying drawings the letter a denotes the distributor-frame, which may be made in any desired manner and of any desired form, though it is preferably built up with'a wooden frame of a considerable width and has its sides sloping toward each other, forming a pocket a, within which the material to be distributed may be carried in the desired quantity. This distributer-frame is axle-brackets b. This arrangement alwaysinsures the pinions,being in proper mesh with the internal gears, no matter what the position of the distributor may be in relation to the wheels. It is obvious that such a construction is essential, inasmuch as the tongue or neap by Which the device as a whole is drawn over the ground does not always lie in the same plane, but swings in a vertical plane about the axis of the wheels. At intervals along this shaft f are arranged star or trip wheels g, which may have any desired number of teeth and are adapted to cooperate With rolls 9 for the purpose of opening or closing the bottom of the distributor.

As stated above, the interior of the distributer is lined with sheet metal, and this preferably extends slightly beyond the frame at' the bottom, so that the metal plates .forming the sheathing for opposite walls of the distributer are brought into close contact. One of these sheet-metal walls, as 0%, is stationary, while the other is so located with relation to the bottom of the side wall that it may be sprung backward, permitting an opening along the bottom of the distributor. To secure the best results, the portion of the lining which is left to vibrate is made of a harder material than the rest of the sheathing, as sheet-steel, and is firmly supported at one end, as at a by being inserted between sheathing a and the frame. At intervals along this Vibrating plate are arranged brackets'containing rollers, so positioned that they will be engaged by the star-wheels g. It is obvious that as the pinion-shaft is rotated by the movement of the wheels 0 and gears cl the vibrating plate will be forced backward, permitting material within the distributor to fall out at its bottom. To cause this plate to resume its normal position with required rapidity, springs h are arranged upon the back of the plate and are held in position about the bolts h, which are provided with adjustingnuts h and abuffer 72 the latter cooperating with stop-bar h, which prevents the vibrating plate being forced against the sheathing of the opposite wall with such force as to injure it.

To provide a means foradjusting the width of the opening at thebottom of the distributer,slotted brackets 't'are secured to the fram ework near the bottom, and dependent from these brackets are hangers i, which encircle the pinion-shaft f and by their position determine the position of the shaft and its starwheels with relation to the rolls g. The connecting-rods 7c, operated by handle 70', are secured to the brackets t", and a movement of the handle 70 will move the pinion-shaft f farther away from or closer to the rolls g, dependent upon the movement of the handle, whereby the rotation of the star-Wheels 9 will move the vibrating plate more or less, as desired. A segment Z, provided with peripheral teeth, cooperates with the stop Z, conveniently located on the handle k, to hold the lever, with the connecting-rods and pinionshaft, in any desired adjustment.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings there is shown one of the pinions e and its connection to the shaft f. It is obvious that if one of the wheels rotates faster than the other, as in turning a corner, a considerable torsional strain will be put upon the shaft f unless means were provided for releasing the pinion during backward movement of the wheels. To obviate this difficulty, a ratchet and pawl m n are arranged intermediate with the pinion and the shaft, so that the frame will be driven only during the forward motion of the wheels.

I claim as my improvement-- 1. In combination in a device of the class specified, a distributer adapted to carry material, a vibrating plate at the mouth thereof, a friction-roll carried by the plate, a rotating shaft having a star-wheel for moving said roll, a hanger supporting said shaft, and means for adjusting the position of the hanger.

2. In combination in a device of the class specified, a distributer adapted to carry material, a vibrating plate'at the mouth thereof, a friction-roll carried by the plate, a rotating shaft having a star-wheel for moving said roll and a driving-pinion, supporting-wheels for the machine, gears carried thereby and in mesh with said pinion, arms hung on the axis of said wheels and having hearings in which said shaft is journaled, and means for moving the shaft around said axis but with respect to said friction-roll.

S. In combination in a device of the class specified, a distributer adapted to carry material, a vibrating plate at the mouth thereof, a friction-roll carried by the plate, arotating shaft having a star-wheel for moving said roll, a bracket depending from the distributerframe and having a slot, a hanger supporting said shaft and having one extremity adjust ably pivoted in said slot, and means for adjusting the other extremity of the hanger to move the star-wheel with respect to the fric-' tion-roll, substantially as described.

4. In combination in a device of the class specified, a distributer adapted to carry material, a vibrating plate at the mouth thereof, a shaft having a star-wheel for moving said plate, a driving-pinion on said shaft, supporting-wheels for the machine, gears carried thereby and in mesh with said pinion, arms hung on the axis of said wheels and having bearings in which said shaft is journaled, a hanger supporting said shaft and having one extremity connected by an adjustable pivot with the distributer-frame, and means for adjusting the other extremity of the hanger to move the star-wheel with respect to the friction-roll, substantially as described.

LOWELL H. BREWER. Witnesses:

WILLIAM H. BARKER, LUITGARD MoRLA. 

